2016 Year List

2016 Year List (UK:137) (Total:165):
Key: Bold = Lifer. Red = Overseas Bold Red (Work it out!)

Starling, House Sparrow, Mallard, Eider, Pheasant, Red-throated Diver, Northern Fulmar, Raven, Carrion Crow, Hooded Crow, Rook, Jackdaw, Blackbird, Robin, Rock Pipit, Rock Dove, Black Guillemot, Kittiwake, Great Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Curlew, Redshank, Lapwing, Oystercatcher, Gannet, Shag, Tufted Duck, Common Goldeneye, Eurasian Teal, Eurasian Widgeon, Mute Swan, Whooper Swan, Greylag Goose, Little Grebe, Cormorant, Grey Heron, Greenland White-fronted Goose, Great Northern Diver, Common Buzzard, Common Kestrel, Purple Sandpiper, Collard Dove, Redwing, Fieldfare, Chaffinch, Linnet, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Red Kite, Wood Pigeon, Pied Wagtail, Dunnock, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Coal Tit, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Magpie, Lesser Redpoll, Bullfinch, Egyptian Goose, Northern Shovelar, Great Crested Grebe, Bittern, Moorhen, Coot, Ring-necked Parakeet, Stonechat, Cetti's Warbler, Wren, Canada Goose, Pintail, Pochard, Green Woodpecker, Chiffchaff, Goldcrest, Jay, Siskin, Gadwall, Peregrine Falcon, Long-tailed Tit, Meadow Pipit, Red-legged Partridge, Treecreeper, Shelduck, Grey Wagtail, Song Thrush, Kingfisher, Penduline Tit, Marsh Tit, Nuthatch, Cattle Egret, Little Egret, Common Sandpiper, Sandwich Tern, Sardinian Warbler, Audouin's Gull, Osprey, White Wagtail, Black Redstart, Yellow-legged Gull, Blackcap, Great Egret, Marsh Harrier, Water Rail, Stone Curlew, Green Sandpiper, Serin, Common Crossbill, Reed Bunting, Blue Rock Thrush, Crag Martin, Booted Eagle, Kentish Plover, Greater Flamingo, Moustached Warbler, Purple Swamphen, Pied Avocet, Greenshank, Pink-footed Goose, Long-eared Owl, Tawny Owl, Barn Owl, Grey Partridge, Ringed Plover, Dunlin, Black-tailed Godwit, Ruff, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Skylark, Mistle Thrush, Lapland Bunting, Dark-bellied Brent Goose, Golden Pheasant, Common Snipe, Black Grouse, Red Grouse, Wheatear, Dipper, Yellowhammer, Sand Martin, Swallow, House Martin, Goosander, Velvet Scoter, Common Scoter, Common Guillemot, Razorbill, King Eider, Whimbrel, Snow Bunting, Capercaillie, Red-breasted Merganser, Slavonian Grebe, Rock Ptarmigan, Crested Tit, Scottish Crossbill, Black-throated Diver, White-tailed Eagle, Golden Eagle, Bar-tailed Godwit, Great Skua, Puffin, Red-crested Pochard










Monday 27 January 2014

Round Britian Tour - Day 9

Up early for our last day of the trip, target bird was Black Grouse so we drove the Minera to Worlds End road with the hope of catching a glimpse, problem was, it was absolutely pouring down so visibility was poor, not that it mattered as the birds would have been well and truly hunkered down. We drove up and down the moor road a few times but there was never really any hope in the driving rain. We moved on down to Llangollen as the river is a reliable spot for Dipper and even though it was still raining we got some great close up views.

We then drove on over to Burton Marsh on the Dee estuary to look for the American Buff-bellied Pipit, initially I thought it was going to be impossible as there were a great number of Meadow Pipit and they were very mobile, it also didn't help that I had no idea what I was looking for! We eventually found him and were treated to some good views.

116. American Buff-bellied Pipit

116. American Buff-bellied Pipit

116. American Buff-bellied Pipit

116. American Buff-bellied Pipit
 
We headed over to Pennington Flash as it is very well known for its Willow Tit, on arrival we headed to the Bunting Hide and got to see a few Willow Tit, Nuthatch and Bullfinch.
 
117. Bullfinch

117. Bullfinch

117. Bullfinch

118. Willow Tit
 
This was the first location we'd visited all week where I was able to get a coffee so there was no way I passing up the opportunity, I grabbed myself some chips too, v.happy....
 
News came in of a Lesser Scaup over in Shropshire at Tittesworth Reservoir. What was great was that when we arrived we were treated to really great close up views of a stonking male Lesser Scaup about 5 metres of the causeway. We also had equally great views of a pair of Greater Scaup just 10 metres to the other side of the causeway.


119. Lesser Scaup

119. Lesser Scaup
 
In the fading light we visited an undisclosed location to look for a Ruddy Duck, I recall seeing these relatively easily as a child but the bird we were looking for is potentially the last one in the country so chances were very slim. We arrived with the light almost completely gone and scanned the flocks of ducks to the front which consisted of Mallard, Gadwall, Pochard, Wigeon and a couple of Goosander. I walked further round to scan the hidden areas, I found a small flock at the very far side of the lake which contained a few Mallard and Coot but also the fabled Ruddy Duck.
 
120. Ruddy Duck

120. Ruddy Duck
 
Not the greatest photos, but it was extremely distant, these are phone-scoped which shows just how distant, don't really blame him for hiding away seeing how his relatives have faired.
 
I only saw a total of 48 species today of which 1 was a lifer. The trip notched up 182 with me finishing on 169 which I am extremely pleased with having racked up 17 lifers in total.
 
1. Magpie
2. Blackbird
3. Carrion Crow
4. Jackdaw
5. Black-headed Gull
6. Dipper
7. Mallard
8. Stonechat
9. Meadow Pipit
10. American Buff-bellied Pipit
11. Chaffinch
12. Dunnock
13. Woodpigeon
14. Robin
15. Greenfinch
16. Bullfinch
17. Blue Tit
18. Great Tit
19. Willow Tit
20. Nuthatch
21. Teal
22. Moorhen
23. Tufted Duck
24. Pochard
25. Canada Goose
26. Lesser Black-backed Gull
27. Fieldfare
28. Rook
29. Mute Swan
30. Cormorant
31. Linnet
32. Kestrel
33. Lapwing
34. Common Gull
35. Song Thrush
36. Reed Bunting
37. Long-tailed Tit
38. Pheasant
39. Buzzard
40. Starling
41. Lesser Scaup
42. Greater Scaup
43. Goosander
44. Coot
45. Ruddy Duck
46. Little Grebe
47. Goldfinch
48. Coal Tit


Sunday 26 January 2014

Round Britain Tour - Day 8

We arose nice and early this morning but didn't need to overly rush as there was not commute to consider, the first port of call was the beach across the road. It was still the beginnings of dawn when we hit the sand dunes. The 4 of us spread ourselves in an extended line and started walking towards the area for which the majority of sighting reports were about to see if any of us could locate the Shorelark we were looking for last night. After about an hour having walked up and back down the beach along both the sand dunes and the shoreline, we bumped into a local birder who had seen them, he informed us that they'd flown in our direction but we had neither seen nor heard them. During our hunt for the Shorelark we had a flock of 8 Snow Bunting fly over, they were very skittish, I managed to follow one to ground but only at distance, any time I attempted to approach by even a few meters it would move along so this was the best shot I could manage, not very good I'm afraid but you tell it's a Snow Bunting.

114. Snow Bunting

We did have some great views of Mediterranean Gull flying along the coast line with some great overhead views, additionally there were plenty of Lesser Black-backed Gull and Herring Gull. We were treated some great views of Grey Seal again, I couldn't believe how close the be tide line it was, I think he was just curious as to what was going on.

Grey Seal
We continued to walk up and down the beach on our quest for Shorelark for the next 2 hours and was joined but more local birders. At about the 2.5 hour point I heard one of our team shout that they had them however by the time I got there they had flown and could not be relocated so I dipped them which was frustrating as Shorelark would have been a lifer for me, another time maybe...
 
After what felt like a waste of a morning - and precious daylight for 1 species, we called took a vote to move on as we were way down on numbers compared to previous years of the Round Britain Tour.
 
Our next target location was Blakeney Point for Long-tailed Duck with a few stops along the way to pick off a few more species required for the trip. First port of call was a field which is apparently reliable for Whooper Swan, I have no idea where this was though! On arrival we could see a vast number of Swans in this field and had to endure todays extreme cold, wind and drizzle to get half decent views. The field contained a mixture of Bewick,s and Whooper Swan, about 48/11 split.
 
104. Whooper Swan

105. Bewick's Swan

105. Bewick's Swan
 
I know the numbering is out - AGAIN or maybe STILL?? It's because some are taken with my DSLR and some photos are Phone-scoped, I've just dealt with them in the order they sit in the folder.
 
Happy to have Whooper Swan we moved to yet another field in the middle of nowhere; probably wasn't the middle of nowhere, I just didn't know where we were. Anyhow, we stopped here for a large flock of geese, hoping for Bean Goose however they were all Greylag. The field behind though turned up a large flock of Pink-footed Goose and as a complete bonus, 2 Common Crane which made me very happy as it was almost pitch black when we'd seen them in Dorset with that occasion being a first for me. This sat much more comfortably with me.
 
106. Common Crane

107. Pink-footed Goose
 
I was really happy with today's events so far, although no lifers; which I don't go birding for specifically, however this trip was indeed all about maximising the opportunity to use the knowledge of Lee Evans to unlock some of my blocker birds. I have tried in the past for Common Crane on numerous occasions, obviously unsuccessfully, so to know see them twice in the space of a few days was amazing.
 
Our next stop was a bit of a shot to nothing - Holt for the long staying Parrot Crossbill... When we arrived we had to try and squeeze the car in amongst all the other vehicles while remaining conscious not to block access points, exit points for cars already present or to present a nuisance to the road users passing the area. With the car safely stowed we headed on down to the area frequented by the Parrot Crossbill, luckily there was already a gathering of about 15 people, they pointed out where the birds were but it was impossible to find them as they were right in the tops of the conifers and motionless so nothing to get your eye onto. Also they were a few rows of trees back which meant they were obscured unless you had exactly the right viewing angle.
Eventually after some painstaking stalking and adjusting of position I located them in my scope, todays 1st and only lifer, Parrot Crossbill. Locating them did require me to move back about 20 meters in order to be able to focus. We were treated to some fantastic views of a few males and females which we got to watch moving around slowly within the treetops, bonus of this though is it enabled me to focus the scope and get some snap with the phone.
 
108. Parrot Crossbill
 
Happy with our achievements we headed back to the car but on route some Common Crossbill flew over and landed in some trees to our front, this was great news for me as I'd missed them on our visit to the Forest of Dean for the Two-bars. I had seen them fly over but I like to be able to positively identify them for me to count them. So I was now happy after some great views of a male sat proudly atop a fir tree (no good with tree recognition - birds are difficult enough).

109. Common Crossbill
 
So one last stop on our route to Blakeney and this was to yet another field which was on the boundary of Blakeney, in which was a vast flock of Dark-bellied Brent Goose, there were a few Black Brant, a couple of Pale-bellied and a partial leucistic - all forms together, that could have saved a few hours in Devon.
 
110. Dark-bellied Brent Goose
 
So finally at Blakeney we parked up in a layby and took the footpath in, this was extremely boggy with the continuous drizzle we'd had today but was certainly worth it. As usual, we arrived to a group of birders after the same prize as us and there they were, 2 Long-tailed Duck, out in the channel within a decent distance. I didn't manage any photos though as they didn't sit still for a second due to being mobbed by a Great Black-back Gull who seemed content on them being lunch. We also managed to add Great Northern Diver, Bar-tailed Godwit and Red-breasted Merganser to today's tally, I never tire of seeing Red-breasted Merganser, such handsome birds.
 
Final stop for the day was Titchwell Marsh, the target being Ruff. The site was very busy but I suppose it is Saturday and of course the RSPB's flagship reserve. This was my first ever visit and I was impressed, I will definitely return and take in the site at a more leisurely pace. I could not believe just how close I was to waders, enabled me to get some half decent shots of them, primarily Black-tailed Godwit and Bar-tailed Godwit, was a great opportunity to see them together for comparison purposes, such size difference.
 
111. Golden Plover

112. Bar-tailed Godwit

112. Bar-tailed Godwit

113. Black-tailed Godwit

113. Black-tailed Godwit
 
We found a number of Ruff scurrying about within the Golden Plover and I got a couple of shots but they were way too poor for identification. They were too distant with poor light through the drizzle and it was difficult to hold the camera still in the wind to successfully capture anything that wasn't close.
 
We continued on to the beach to look for Eider, we found a few Red-throated Diver an rafts of Common Scoter, I'd estimate around 200 but unfortunately no Eider.  We had Pintail, Avocet and Knot on the way back to the vehicle.
 
115. Knot
 
The light had almost gone now so we hurried back to the car with the hope of taking in one last sight. We got in the car no a moment too soon, as we were reversing the heavens opened, I felt sorry for those still at the beach, there was no way they didn't get soaked through.
 
Our last stop was at an undisclosed location where, from the car we were treated to some amazing albeit distant views of 5 Hen Harrier, 1 male and 4 female/juvenile, flying around and displaying. I've only seen Hen Harrier 3 times and at this time realised that I'd only seen female/juveniles before, these were my first males. They are gorgeous birds of prey, it's difficult to understand how such a beautiful creature could be so intensely persecuted.
 
The light now completed gone we decided to head on over to North Wales in preparation for tomorrows exploits and our last day.
 
I saw a total of 63 species today of which 1 was a lifer and I'm now at 164 for the trip:
 
1. Mallard
2. Herring Gull
3. Lesser Black-backed Gull
4. Black-headed Gull
5. Mediterranean Gull
6. Cormorant
7. Redshank
8. Snow Bunting
9. Skylark
10. Carrion Crow
11. Magpie
12. House Sparrow
13. Starling
14. Blackbird
15. Bewick's Swan
16. Whooper Swan
17. Rook
18. Jackdaw
19. Common Gull
20. Woodpigeon
21. Mute Swan
22. Greylag Goose
23. Egyptian Goose
24. Lapwing
25. Little Egret
26. Golden Plover
27. Common Crane
28. Pink-footed Goose
29. Red-legged Partridge
30. Parrot Crossbill
31. Common Crossbill
32. Dark-bellied Brent Goose
33. Glossy Ibis
34. Shelduck
35. Greenfinch
36. Grey Plover
37.Oystercatcher
38. Bar-tailed Godwit
39. Great Black-backed Gull
40. Red-breasted Merganser
41. Great Northern Diver
42. Long-tailed Duck
43. Goldeneye
44. Curlew
45. Linnet
46. Teal
47. Moorhen
48. Kestrel
49. Grey Partridge
50. Common Buzzard
51. Black-tailed Godwit
52. Ruff
53. Avocet
54. Gadwall
55. Pintail
56. Common Scoter
57. Knot
58. Pochard
59. Tufted Duck
60. Turnstone
61. Red-throated Diver
62. Pale-bellied Brent Goose
63. Hen Harrier
 
 



 
 




Saturday 25 January 2014

Round Britian Tour - Day 7

We arrived last night after a very long day in the car. The Travelodge usually used for this trip was fully booked so we had to scour the internet for B&B's at a reasonable cost. We managed to find a pub which had motel style rooms out back which was just outside the wire of RAF Mildenhall. We all arose this morning a little later knowing we only had a 5 minute drive to our first site, we were a little disappointed on stepping outside to realise that it was completely light. You just don't consider that daylight timings will vary that much as you travel East in your own country.  So it was a very quick breakfast and into the car for our first target - Golden Pheasant. We were unsure if they would be about as the land owner had been threatening to kill them all as he was fed up of birders.  Whether they have all be exterminated is unknown but we certainly didn't manage to locate any.

We made a quick detour on route to the next location in the hope of connecting with a couple of Waxwings reported at Martlesham Heath at the Douglas Bader pub! We had to stop to ask directions to the pub when the satnav took us into a housing estate - Martlesham Heath - not the type of heath I was expecting. When we arrived we were greeted by a handful of birders who put us straight on to the Waxwing, the birds were in a small square which was surrounded by shops, the locals picking up their morning papers must have wondered who all the lunatics were in camo gear with high powered cameras.

103. Waxwing

103. Waxwing

103. Waxwing

103. Waxwing
 
As we were about to leave the Waxwing were joined by a Redwing and a couple of Fieldfare so had to share their berry bounty with these bigger bully boys.

101. Redwing

102. Fieldfare

Next stop was a tip from a local birder for a good location for both Tree Sparrow and Yellowhammer which were both target birds for today. Yellowhammer had avoided us for the whole trip so far so when we pulled up to the location it was a relief to find a large flock of Yellowhammer flitting between an arable field and some power lines, there was a large number of Red-legged Partridge around too.  In the same area we managed to seen about 15 Tree Sparrow along with Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Chaffinch and a couple of Brambling.

With those in the bag it was off to North Warren to check out some Pink-footed Geese, we drove around looking for geese flocks which favour a certain area. We eventually located a field of geese comprising of numerous Barnacle Goose, a single Canada Goose and a handful of Greylag Goose, now Pint-feet though. The numbering is out again but I promise it all tallies up in the end...

98.Barnacle Goose
 
We now decided to try out for Black Redstart at a reliable location, the beach that runs in front of Sizewell B power station. About 50 meters from the car we'd located a female Black Redstart and almost missed the male sat about 5 meters from her, just as I brought my telescope to bear on him, off he went. They were very difficult to get within a decent range off.  We also had Kittiwake off the shore within a mixed gull flock. I managed to 'Phonescope' the male from some distance away:
 
99. Black Redstart
 


So that was another of todays targets in the bag, Next stop RSPB Minsmere, I couldn't believe that I'd never visited Minsmere before, what an amazing location. We traipsed right across to the far side of the reserve, almost back to Sizewell except for the estuary.... We were looking for Tundra Bean Goose and managed to located the flock they Greylags they were accompanying. There were a few smaller geese but as luck would have it they were sleeping and very distant. Eventually one popped it's head out for a look around and revealed a beautiful white facial plate above the bill, so now Bean Goose but a few bonus White-fronted Goose.

We set off back to the car but not without stopping for the Water Pipit showing ridiculously well directly in front of the Island Mere Hide, unbelievable and unmistakable. I was questioning a Rock Pipit back in Devon but with view like this there was no question.

100. Water Pipit

100. Water Pipit
 
We were also lucky enough to get some great views of a Red Deer (I think?), RSPB Minsmere apparently has the largest herd outside of Scotland. Not entirely sure what the impact these large animals have on the reed beds though? A bonus was a Muntjac Deer keeping the Red Deer company.
 
Red Deer
 
Muntjac Deer
 
I thought we were having a great day seeing some great species which I very rarely get to see, however Lee Evans wasn't too happy with the amount of birds we'd dipped. Next option was to go for a Long-tailed Duck which was showing on and off or Twite. We decided to go for the Twite which turned out to be epic...!  I think we went to Dingle Marshes and walked along a shingle beach for about 1.5 miles before we met a birder coming the other way who'd seen the Twite fly towards us! At this point we'd decided we couldn't go any further as it had nearly killed us walking that far, it was REALLY hard going and we were only half way, i.e. we had to go back yet...!  So an executive decision was made, we would have to dip the Twite. We had amazing views of a Common Guillemot on route back although the negative side is that it was probably ill being so close in - about 5 meters away. We did get some great views of Stonechat which is a bird nobody can tire of seeing.
 
We then went Orfordness in an attempt to locate the Rough-legged Buzzard, we managed it but only very distant views. This bird was a lifer for me so not the most memorable of views. We then had the choice of trying the Long-tailed Duck or to head up to Great Yarmouth in the hope of connecting with Shore Lark which were showing spectacularly well. Consensus was to try for the Shore Lark which pleased me as this too was a lifer. We arrived on site with little light remaining and spent until dark scouring the sand dunes but nothing came of it, another dip for the day.
 
The group decided to stay right on site at a seafront hotel and to try for the Shore Lark at first light.
 
I saw 60 species today of which I had one lifer (I dipped on 2). I'm now at 153 for the trip:
 
1. Collard Dove
2. Pheasant
3. Black-headed Gull
4. Woodpigeon
5. Red-legged Partridge
6. Carrion Crow
7. Great Black-backed Gull
8. Greenfinch
9. Goldfinch
10. Chaffinch
11. Tree Sparrow
12. Blue Tit
13. Brambling
14. Blackbird
15. Yellowhammer
16. Skylark
17. Waxwing
18. Fieldfare
19. Redwing
20. House Sparrow
21. Dunnock
22. Pied Wagtail
23. Barnacle Goose
24. Canada Goose
25. Lapwing
26. Greylag Goose
27. Little Egret
28. Coot
29. Mallard
30. Teal
31. Widgeon
32. Shovelar
33. Pintail
34. Herring Gull
35. Lesser Black-backed Gull
36. Magpie
37. Jackdaw
38. Mute Swan
39. Starling
40. Robin
41. Black Redstart
42. Kittiwake
43. Great Tit
44. White-fronted Goose
45. Water Pipit
46. Long-tailed Tit
47. Marsh Harrier
48. Common Guillemot
49. Stonechat
50. Redshank
51. Cormorant
52. Grey Heron
53. Shelduck
54. Tufted Duck
55. Kestrel
56. Rock Pipit
57. Goldcrest
58. Coal Tit
59. Rook
60. Rough-legged Buzzard

Friday 24 January 2014

Round Britain Tour - Day 6

An early start this morning although I was running a little late! Breakfast at our accommodation was set for 08:30 but the chef very kindly came in to serve us at 07:00. We managed to get away for about 07:45 so not all bad, only running 15 minutes late and fortunately the first stop was only 5 minutes away at the Parkend triangle for Hawfinch. Luckily I'd visited 2 weeks earlier so knew exactly where to locate the Hawfinches, it only took about 10 minutes before they flew into the same trees I'd seen them in before, that was target bird 1 ticked.

Next stop was for the Two-barred Crossbill but we decided to stop off at New Fancy viewpoint as we were passing to waste our time looking for Goshawk. We arrived atop the viewpoint and within about 2 minutes Lee Evans spots a Goshawk against the sunny blue sky over the treetops - DISPLAYING!! on the 24th January!!!! Goshawk was a bonus bird for the trip as we never expected to see them this early in the year, even better was the fact that it was a lifer for me :o)

We then drove around to a suitable parking area for a walk up to Brierley Hill and across Serridge Ridge where they have faithfully frequented for a number of weeks. We walked the ridge and had to take momentary shelter under the trees as a brief deluge tried to soak us, once it ceased we continued our walk and saw plenty of Blue Tit, Great Tit, Coal Tit, Goldcrest, Chaffinch and a couple of stunning Brambling but no Two-bars.

We had news of Great Grey Shrike showing at Crabtree Hill although we had no idea where that was. I attempted to find it on the internet but O2 my service provider (personal branding NO-2) wasn't really 'providing' said service, although this wasn't surprising, it was frustrating...! We walked in what Lee Evans presumed was the correct direction and we felt we'd found the correct area based on the reporting. We walked through the heath be no joy so decided to head back to the car via Serridge Ridge. On the way back across the heath the Great Grey Shrike was spotted, it was at a distant but sat atop a bare tree in beautiful sunlight affording us some amazing views.

96. Great Grey Shrike

96. Great Grey Shrike

96. Great Grey Shrike
 
 After that great find, we headed back to the car completely elated but it wasn't to end as on our way back across Serridge Ridge we came across a number of birders whom we stopped to talk to, whilst chatting the Two-barred Crossbills were heard and unbelievably landed just down from us in the top of a tree again in sunlight affording amazing views!

97. Two-barred Crossbill

97. Two-barred Crossbill

97. Two-barred Crossbill

97. Two-barred Crossbill

With all our target species for the day accomplished it was time to head across to Suffolk but we would go via Cotswold Water Park for Red-crested Pochard. They were reported on Pit 44, when we arrived I couldn't believe how many there were, I think it was 28 but I can't remember now.

Red-crested Pochard

We then continued onto Suffolk, heading for Thetford, we took another diversion via Staines Moor for Water Pipit but failed to locate any, the fields were flooded and it was dog walking time, we then popped into Staines Reservoir for Scaup with a bonus Black-necked Grebe. We managed to clock up Red Kite whilst travelling along the M4.

Red Kite

I only saw a total of 46 species today with 1 lifer (Goshawk). I'm now at 147 for the trip:

1. Hawfinch
2. Stockdove
3. Woodpigeon
4. Greenfinch
5. Blackbird
6. Jackdaw
7. Song Thrush
8. Mistle Thrush
9. Tufted Duck
10. Mallard
11. Moorhen
12. Coot
13. Lesser Black-backed Gull
14. Great Spotted Woodpecker
15. Blue Tit
16. Great Tit
17. Chaffinch
18. Bullfinch
19. Goshawk
20. Mandarin Duck
21. Brambling
22. Coal Tit
23. Raven
24. Two-barred Crossbill
25. Goldcrest
26. Carrion Crow
27. Common Buzzard
28. Red-crested Pochard
29. Goosander
30. Cormorant
31. Lesser Redpoll
32. Great Crested Grebe
33. Great Grey Shrike
34. Mute Swan
35. Red Kite
36. Kestrel
37. Magpie
38. Little Egret
39. Fieldfare
40. Shovelar
41. Gadwall
42. Pochard
43. Wigeon
44. Scaup
45. Goldeneye
46. Black-necked Grebe

Thursday 23 January 2014

Round Britian Tour - Day 5

Today's effort was concentrated around Devon with target species being Greenshank, Cirl Bunting, Bonaparte's Gull, Black Brant and Black Guillemot. I got into the car this morning to the sound of Happy Birthday being sung in raspy chorus, unfortunately today is my 40th birthday and I officially feel properly old.... :o(
First port of call this morning was Dawlish Warren for the Bonaparte's Gull. On route we stopped off to view a flooded field just outside Goodrington as Lee Evans had been informed by local contacts that it contained some 'easy to view' Greenshank.  His local contact was spot on, it contained 8 Greenshank about 50m away, the field also contained a bonus Spotted Redshank.

91. Greenshank

92. Spotted Redshank

92. Spotted Redshank

Once the Greenshank was secured we carried on to Dawlish Warren NR for the Bonaparte's Gull, we walked the length of the beach head to groyne 13 as it had been reported to be frequenting groynes 8-13 but we were unable to locate it. We did see Red-throated Diver out at see which was a bonus however the flock of Black-bellied Brent Geese were nowhere to be seen. The geese were then spotted in the far distance feeding in a field so it was a quick dash back to the car. As we approached to field a tractor entered it putting the geese up who then flew across to the Exe estuary - back to where we'd just come from. There was no way to view them from our location as the estuary is hidden by a raised railway line so it was back into the car and back to the nature reserve. Unbelievably, by the time we'd arrived the geese had moved back to the field however another birder thought he had the Bonaparte's Gull, he was spot on, we managed so great views as it sat on the sea about 25m out from the shore, we didn't get too close as we didn't want to spook it so taking photos was difficult as it travelled with the tide.
 
93. Bonaparte's Gull

Bonaparte's Gull

93. Bonaparte's Gull
 
After a good half hour with the Bonaparte's Gull we headed back to the field containing the Brent Geese, found a half decent viewing position and scanned for the Black Brant which was located after about 5 mins, the views were hit and miss as the field was on a slope with a dip to the rear which the Black Brant kept disappearing into, unfortunately the views were too distant for photos.
A good start to the day with 2 lifers for me, Bonaparte's Gull and Black Brant.
Satisfied with 3 of our target species in the bag we headed down to Broadsands for Cirl Bunting
We arrived at Broadsands, parked up and was treated to some great views of Common and Siberian Chiffchaff flitting around a drainage ditch, a really great opportunity for some close up comparisons.
We then also managed to get onto a flock of Cirl Bunting showing really well, I believe seed is put out for them at this location so sighting is almost guaranteed. We attempted to move slightly close to get some photos but they seem to spook very easily and disappeared into some fields in the distance. We waited for about 10 minutes but then decided to have a look in the bay.  We had some great views of a Razorbill which was very close in, I then noticed a Rock Pipit feeding quite close to me which was very confiding and allowed me to get a lot of shots off.  A shag was feeding quite close in too.
 
94. Rock Pipit
 
95. Shag
 
On returning to the car we had another quick look for the Cirl Bunting, we managed to locate them but could only get distant views in the telescope, deciding to move on, a few birds flew into the tree beside us, Greenfinch and a cracking female Cirl Bunting (The numbering is a little out of order as I'd forgotten I had another SD card of photos to sort and I certainly am not redoing 30 photos for the sake of numbering, it all balances out in the end)...!
 
122. Cirl Bunting

122. Cirl Bunting
 
With 3 lifers in the bag (Cirl Bunting) and it still being mid-afternoon, today was shaping up nicely. Our next stop was Brixham Harbour for a Black Guillemot so it was back in the car, we managed to get some directions from a local birder we'd got chatting too whilst viewing the Cirl Buntings so we were able to go directly to the correct spot.
 
We arrived at the AstraZenica car park as instructed and started to scan the harbour, it was devoid of birdlife! Further scanning of the harbour mouth revealed, Razorbill, Black Guillemot and Red-throated and Black-throated Divers plus the usual handful of Shag.
 
Scanning patiently for the Black Guillemot, we failed to notice a pair of Black-throated Divers moving into the harbour until they appeared right in front of us, numbering is still out as these were the same SD card.
 
123. Black-throated Diver

123. Black-throated Diver

123. Black-throated Diver

123. Black-throated Diver
 
We were then treated to some cracking views of a Grey (I think) Seal - right in front of us off the harbour wall, curious fellow he was, this was the first time I'd ever seen Seals in the wild.
 
Grey Seal

Grey Seal
 
We finally managed to locate the Black Guillemot, we'd overlooked him because he was close in but further down the harbour, slowly but surely he drifted out into the harbour mouth, this was my 4th lifer of the day, awesome!
 
124. Black Guillemot



A bonus as we were about to leave was an Iceland Gull found by Lee Evans (as were about 99% of the birds) from a quick scan of some rooftops.
 
125. Iceland Gull
 
All in all I think we had a very good day today, hitting most of our target birds, we didn't have time to catch the Ring-necked Duck on Bodmin and failed to locate a local Cattle Egret. We now had a long drive up to the Forest of Dean for tomorrows Two-barred Crossbills, Hawfinch's and Goshawks - not sure if that's asking a bit too much but we'll see...... We phone the local Travelodge (M48) but they were full but fortunately found a pub in Whitecroft with 4 vacant rooms, unfortunately there is no mobile phone coverage at all so I was unable to speak to the misses on my birthday, not a happy bunny....
 
I saw a total of 67 species today of which 4 were lifers! I'm now at 136 for the trip:
 
1. Red-throated Diver
2. Black-throated Diver
3. Great Northern Diver
4. Great Crested Grebe
5. Cormorant
6. Shag
7. Little Egret
8. Canada Goose
9. Dark-bellied Brent Goose
10. Black Brant
11. Shelduck
12. Mallard
13. Shovelar
14. Wigeon
15. Teal
16. Velvet Scoter
17. Common Buzzard
18. Oystercatcher
19. Avocet
20. Ringed Plover
21. Grey Plover
22. Lapwing
23. Turnstone
24. Dunlin
25. Redshank
26. Spotted Redshank
27. Greenshank
28. Black-tailed Godwit
29. Bar-tailed Godwit
30. Curlew
31. Black-headed Gull
32. Bonaparte's Gull
33. Common Gull
34. Great Black-backed Gull
35. Iceland Gull
36. Black Guillemot
37. Common Guillemot
38. Razorbill
39. Stock Dove
40. Woodpigeon
41. Collard Dove
42. Green Woodpecker
43. Rock Pipit
44. Meadow Pipit
45. Pied Wagtail
46. Wren
47. Dunnock
48. Robin
49. Song Thrush
50. Blackbird
51. Common Chiffchaff
52. Siberian Chiffchaff
53. Goldcrest
54. Great Tit
55. Coal Tit
56. Magpie
57. Jackdaw
58. Rook
59. Carrion Crow
60. Starling
61. House Sparrow
62. Chaffinch
63. Goldfinch
64. Greenfinch
65. Reed Bunting
66. Cirl Bunting
67. Herring Gull